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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spell — magic
  3. squash — the sport
  4. track — to keep track
  5. spell — letters
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kid — child
  10. kick — in football
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. track — a song
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. track — a path
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com